Bay- Friendly Garden Tour: May 15th

Spring has officially sprung, which means that many Alamedans’ thoughts are turning to gardening. And if you’re looking for inspiration, it looks like the Bay-Friendly Landscaping & Gardening Coalition is putting on an even-better-than-ever tour of local gardens this year.

Bay-Friendly, for those of you who haven’t heard of them, is a coalition of non-profit organizations and public agencies from around the Bay Area, which works to reduce waste and pollution, conserve natural resources, and create beautiful landscapes and gardens. The principles of such bay-friendly gardening include nurturing the soil; protecting air and water quality; and creating wildlife habitat. (You can read about all seven bay-friendly principles here.)

This year the tours, which are all self guided, will be held in Alameda, Napa, and Santa Clara counties and will offer a wide variety of bay-friendly gardens, including urban homesteads with goats, chickens, and vegetables; butterfly gardens; drought-tolerant gardens; hillside collector’s gardens (think amazing views); and large lots with acres of growing space. (You can read about one of the featured gardens, which is in San Leandro, here.)

Bay-Friendly Landscaping & Gardening

Want to join a tour? Here’s how it works. You have to registerto receive a guidebook with directions and garden descriptions. The cost is $10 — but if you join Bay-Friendly, you’ll get the book free.

The Napa tour is already closed, alas. But you can still register for the Alameda and Santa Clara County tours, which are being held Sunday, May 15, 2011, from 10:00am-4:00pm.